Knights Right At Home On Campus

New Coach George O'leary Doesn't Want His Players To Live Away From The School.

August 28, 2004|By Alan Schmadtke, Sentinel Staff Writer

Fall semester started this week at UCF, and football players huddled up a bit closer to campus. It's now required.

One of new Coach George O'Leary's dictums to the Golden Knights is that, with only a couple of exceptions, they'll live on campus.

"I've always done that," O'Leary said. "I like the players to be close if we need them for anything, and they need to be a part of the campus life. They need to be around other students."

In the past, freshmen football players were required to live on campus so they could get acclimated to university life. After their first full year in school, though, players were allowed to move off-campus.

O'Leary's decree was issued in the spring so players could get out of apartment leases and make plans for the fall. There are two exceptions: Players who are married can stay off-campus with their wives and family, and graduating seniors have the option to live where they want.

Because of the success of the Academic Village, a relatively new on-campus dorm, the new regulations affected only five or six players. Those include outside linebacker James Cook and tight end Darcy Johnson, both of whom moved from an off-campus apartment back to Academic Village.

"I didn't mind it," said Cook, who lives with a teammate and another student who does not play football. "I like being back on campus. It's close, and there are plenty of other guys around if you need anything."

Two other players were supposed to move back to campus, but they could not break their apartment lease without a severe financial penalty. O'Leary declined to identify the players, but he let them stay off-campus.

Despite the coach's on-campus policy, the Knights don't live together. The NCAA banned football and athletic dorms more than a decade ago. If living on campus, athletes must live in a dorm that has at least 51 percent non-athletes.